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WARREN PORTLOCK. OF PLEASANT GROVE, ANDPJOHN .I-I. SMITH, OFroonnssonouen, IOWA.

Letters Patent No- 74,128,, dated February 4,,18, 8.

IMPROVEMENT In FLOOR-CLAMPS.

TO ALL WHOM IT- MAY-. CONCERN:

Be it known that we, WARREN Ponnoox, of Pleasant Grove, in the county of'Des Moines, and JOHN H- SMITB, 9f T o ough, in the county of LouisafandState ofIowa, have invented Improvements in the Construotion ofFloor-Clamps; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters marked thereon.

The nature-oi: our invention consists, first, in constructingfloor-clamps in such a manner that the distance. betweenthe shanks canbe changed, according to the width of thejoist; second, that they can beadjusted, removed, or transferred almost instantly; third, inconstructing floor-clamps so as to obtain closerjoihts between thefloorings; fourth, in constructing floor-clamps so as to lie-applicableat places of small space.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, wewill now proceed to describe its construction and operation. v

We construct a wooden lever, A, and adjust to one end two iron shanks, BB, bolted thereon in such a manner that by loosening the nut of the boltthe shanks may be let apart to suit the width of the joist. On the lowerend of these shanks we adjust two catching-jaws, E, insuch a manner aswill allowthem to swing on the shanks. The front ends of these jawsarelsharpcned, so. as to alldw thcm t o penetrate the-wood and obtain asecure hold. The rear ends of these jaws have a projectingknee, on whichthe spring J, wound around thesrnall projection of the shanks, pressesinsnch a manner as to throw the front of the catching-jaws alwaysagainst the wood between thejaws. In using this tool for the purpose oflaying flooring, the shanks obtain a vertical positicn on each side ofthe joist G, the springs I pressing thejaws E against it, and into whichtheypenetratc and obtain secure hold. By pulling the lever A towards theoperator, the power or fulcrum is against the hearing L, which are thuspressed close to each other. The back brace C, hinged to and between theshanks, holds the lever in position until the flooring is permanentlyfastened. This back brace is made. with a knee or stub-joint, which willbond by giving it a slight pressure on the under side, .and thus allowthe 1ever;-to come back. D D are two small lovers, connected with thejaws E. By passing the hand down the main lever A, the small levers D Dcan be pressed'together, and thejaws E are thus pressed open and out ofthe joist, and easily transferred to thenextjoist. To keep the jawsopen, a how, 0, is attached over the small levers D, which allows themto come but a certaindistance apart, and consequently prevents thespringI from pressing the front of the jaws entirely together. Ina,similar manner sidings, ceilings, boat-bottoms can be pressed togetherand held in place until fastened.

When the cud-of back brace or prop is set on the joist to hold the leverpermanent against the flooring, the resisting'elasticity-of the flooringcauses the end of the prop or back brace-toenter the joist, which allowsthe chimp or lever to come back an equal distance, and hence no reallyclose joint can be produced; but by pro riding the back brace with aknee or stub-joint, G, we reduce its length bybending it at the knee,and, after pressing the flooring as close as possible, we adjust theback brace and straighten it; thus the amount which penetrates the joistis obtained in the length of the back brace, andhenco the flooring iskept as close as before setting the back brace. In removing a prop orback brace without ajknee or stub-joint penetrated intothe jo described,i u y requires considerable strength and time for its removahwhilstaeback brace, with knee or stub-joint, can be removed quickly and easilyby bending it, thus withdrawing the'point in the manner it entered thejoist.

Claims.

We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters'Pistent- 1.The back brace G, provided with a knee or stub-joint, constructedsubstantially the manner and for the purpose as set forth; v j

g 2. The small levers D D,-constructed and operating togethersubstantially in the manner as above shown and specified. I r p WARRENPORTLOCK,

JOHN H. SMITH. Witnesses:

E. Knnrcmunn, Gnonen ZIER.

